Knitting Showcase

It's time to show off some of the things that I've been working on!

I had already posted something about this blanket, but realized that I never posted any pictures.  This is called a "Cascading Colors Baby Blankie" from Lionbrand Yarn.  I knit it in July, and I chose the colors because I didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl yet and thought that they were good colors for both!  The crochet border was not part of the original pattern, but when I was finished I felt that it needed "something."  I'll admit that I had help.....one of my residents at work did the crochet border.  I am planning on learning though, in fact I've put "Stitch n Bitch Crochet:  The Happy Hooker" on my Christmas wish list!

I finished this on Friday night, it took me about three weeks of off-and-on working on it.  It's called a Car Seat Blankie, and I found the pattern on Ravelry.    This is also something special for our new baby!  Have you ever tried to keep a blanket on a sleeping baby in a carseat?  It's next to impossible.  I thought that this pattern was ingenious, with a hole in the middle to slip the seatbelt through.  Problem solved!  I can't wait to see it in action.  I made it out of variegated blue acrylic from Red Heart Yarns, which I wasn't crazy about at first.  But the longer I worked on this, the more I liked the yarn.  This knitted up so quickly, I might make another one in a different yarn weight and color.  We'll see what kind of time I have.

I wanted to branch away from items with straight lines for a little bit, so I made this little baby hat.  Not my first time stitching something together, but this was a little bit more challenging than a coin purse that I did previously.  It's for our our new baby as well.  When I finished it, I lamented that it seemed too small for a newborn baby.  My husband said that I've forgotten just "how small" Will was in the beginning and that it will fit just fine.

I also have a couple of other projects on needles right now.  I have a hat mostly finished for Will in navy blue and red yarns, to match his winter coat.  He has also asked me for a scarf, so I will make him a little scarf to go with it from the yarn that's leftover from the hat.

I also recently discovered that area hospitals (though none in my city) accept handmade knitted items for their newborns and preemies. I have a LOT of yarn in my stash...including half-used balls of cotton from the Cascading Colors Blankie, and have come up with a service project for myself.  I have a nice big plastic bag from my trip to Web's last week.  Over the next year, I am going to knit baby items (mostly hats, though it depends on how much yarn I have for each project) and fill the bag.  Sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2010, I will donate them to an organization that accepts these items for people who need them.  This serves two purposes:  1.  I get to practice my skills and learn new ones (baby booties!) and use up my stash, and 2.  people who wouldn't normally have these kinds of items will benefit from my knitting addiction!